12-year-old boy acts out scenes from Fifty Shades of Grey in park

A leading addiction psychotherapist has said that his 12-year-old client has confessed to acting out scenes from the 50 Shades of Grey film with a girl in his local park.

Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live's presenter Rachel Burden on 31 March, psychotherapist Dr. Steve Pope talked about the destructive nature of pornography's impact on children.

To be blunt, we have had nightmares over the effects of 50 Shades of Grey and what children now think is normal adult sexual behaviour. Porn normalises taboo behaviour. It is probably one of the fastest growing areas of addiction and threats to our society known to Western culture.

- Dr. Steve Pope, Addiction psychotherapist

Recalling a recent discussion with one of his young clients, Dr. Pope said he was left "amazed".

"To be blunt, we have had nightmares over the effects of 50 Shades of Grey and what children now think is normal adult sexual behaviour," said Dr. Pope.

"Within the last 24 hours I have worked with a young man, a 12-year-old, who thought that 50 Shades of Grey was a normal part of sexual behaviour with a young girl."

Dr. Pope further said: "In my day a bottle of cider in the local park was the great experiment. These days you have things like this happening because porn normalises taboo behaviour."

"What we are moving into is long-term effects of what they think is normal behaviour. It is probably one of the fastest growing areas of addiction and threats to our society known to Western culture."

According to a study by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), one in ten British children have participated in a sex video with a fifth of them confessing to being addicted to web porn.

"The word addiction is a label; it is the compulsion that is the problem. It won't affect everyone, or every child, but some will come across it who have addictive personalities and through the internet they have access to an instant hit," said Dr. Pope.

"I don't think we can provide complete protection but parents must be educated. Jamie Oliver did it with food and now we need to do it with this – take it into schools."

When asked about what he thought about adults reading the 50 Shades of Grey at home, Dr. Pope urged caution when reading such literature around children as they are bound to be curious.

"But 50 Shades of Grey is spoken about everywhere. It is the subject of jokes and conversation. Kids are inquisitive and their work-in-progress brains will go home and research it," said Dr. Pope.